Road-grader



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

H. Gr. MOATS. f

` ROAD GRADER. No. 363,342. Patented May 17, 1887.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. H. G. MOATS.

ROAD GRADEB..

Patented May 17, 1887.4

Nv PEIERS. Phawulhagmpher. washington, D C;

rre @rares artnr erica.

HABLAN G. MOA'IS, OF GUSS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO YV. BEOKWITLI, OF MOUNT PLEASANT, IOVA.

ROADGRADER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 363,342, dated May 1'7, 1887.

Application filed December 6, 1886. Serial No. 220,851. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern,.-

Beit known that I, HARLAN G. Mon'rs, of Guss, in the county of Taylor and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Road-Graders; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to roadgraders.

The obj eet of my present invention is to provide a simple, substantial, and compact roadgrading machine that will vafford means of vertical secured adjustment of the scraper or shovel blade, and also permit a rotative movement of this blade upon its supporting-frame, to set and affix it at different angles of diagonal adjustment to the road-bed, to cause the 'cutting-edge of the scraper to have more or less shearing action upon the ground-surface to be graded.

A further object is to so construct the scraper and connect it to its supports that this cuttingedged scraper may be folded up, to remove its lower edge from ground contact, when the ap# paratus is not in use as a gradingmachine and is in transit from one locality to another.

With these ends in view my invention consists in certain features of construction and combinations of parts, that will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings making a part of this specication, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the road-grader. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the grader, taken on the line .fr x in Fig. 2.

A A are the front and rear axles and wheels of the road-grader. Upon the front axle, A, a bolster, B, is secured by a king-bolt, c, to permit free vibratory movement of the front pair of wheels and their axle. Upon the rear axle, A', the bolster B is rigidly secured. It is of the same length and size as the front bolster, B.

On the outer ends of the bolsters B B the arched frame-pieces C C are mounted and rigidly secured in place. The degree of curvature of the arched frame C C is sufficient 'to afford room to suspend in proper position the operative mechanism, that will be described.

At a point, b, on the lower 'faces of the longitudinal frame-pieces C C the transverse bar D is riveted or bolted thereto. This cross-piece has a pair of parallel guidebars, E, secured to its under side in a central position.

Upon the top surface of the arched plates C C', at a central point in their length, the forked brackets F are attached firmly by bolts or rivets. These brackets are made to project with their upright limbs inside the inner edges of the arched plates on which they are mounted. The parallel walls of the upright limbs of the brackets F receive between them the pivoted levers G, these levers being pivoted to vibrate upon fulcrum-bolt-s c, that are adjusted at proper points in the perforations c c2, made through the upright walls of the brackets F for their reception, to permit a change of position of the pivoted levers.

The outer ends of the levers G are held in notches 1c, made in the edges of the upright brackets H, the brackets being mounted upon the plates C C at a proper point on their upper surface to afford means of vertical secured adjustment of the levers. The free outer ends of the levers G are held in the indents or notches 7c of the brackets by the spring-detents d,.riveted or bolted to the sides of the levers in position to bear with their free ends d upon the edges e of the vertical notched brackets H, that are opposite their notched edges. The ends f of the levers G have the links I in swinging connection therewith, these links being made of proper length and ex tended downwardly to pivotally connect to the cross-bar K. The bar K, being suspended horizontally, affords a support to the scraper or shovel O, which is made of platemetal, preferably with a sharpened steel lower edge. The body of the scraper is curved and the rear surface is made to conform to the curvature of the bent arms J, to which the scraper-blade is secured. The attachment of the scraper O to the arms .I is preferably effected by hinges t', that each have one leaf riveted to the concave surface of the arms J, the other part of the hinges being similarly attached to the rear or convex face of the scraper O, and this hinged attachment is so made as to permit projecting ends of the arms J to bear upon the rear face of the scraper and furnish a proper support to this scraper-blade below the hinges when the grader is in use, and yet allow it to yield forwardly with any retrograde motion of the machine. 4

The upper ends of the curved arms J are joined, and together form a iiat ring-segment of a proper diameter to coincide with the width of the concentric annular plates or rings L L. The rings L L are of v such relative diameters as to allow a space, g, to intervene between them when they are in secured position. Said rings are held in such positions with regard to each other by rivet or bolt attachment of each ring to the cross-bar K. The rings L L are also rigidly secured to the arms MN. The arm Nextends toward the rear of the machine, andisofsuchrelativelength and width as to readily enter the space between the vertical guides E, they being provided to engage this arm, and thereby hold the horizontal track-rings L L in lateral adjustment. A The forwardly-projecting arm M has its rear end riveted to the track-rings L L, the front end connecting with the pivoted bar P by means of a hinged joint, S, the swivel-jaw T, that forms part of this hinge, being attached to the front end of the arm M, so as to have rotative movement thereon. The short flat hinged bar Pis perforated at its front end to receive the king-- bolt a, that also holds in place the bolster B.V

The cross-brace U is bolted to the curved arms Jin such relative position to the trackrings L L', llocated above the segmental ringconnection of these arms J, as to cross their centers, and at the diametrical center of these concentric annular plates a vertical shaft, V, is affixed to the brace U, extending loosely through cross-bar K. vA hand-wheel, W, is affixed to the top end of the shaftVto furnish a means of changing the degree of diagonal Vshear of the scraper O in regard to the roadbed, this scraper O being held in adjustable connection with the track-rings L L by the bolts p, located in the groove or space g, and are made of such a size as to slide readily in this circular groove or space when the nuts on their lower ends are slacked to permitsuch movement, their heads engaging the top surface of the rings.

A proper guide-pole and other facilities for the connection of horses or other means of draft locomotion is provided.

In operation the levers G are adjusted to permit the inclined lower edge-of the scraper O to come into contact with the surface of the ground that it is to remove. The adjustment of these levers G, being independent of each other,permits either end of the scraper to be elevated or depressed, as the surface acted upon may require.

The elevation of the free ends of the levers G and their secured ends,interlocked with the notched brackets H,will afford a means of accurate graduation ofthe depth of the cut. The degree of diagonal inclination of the cuttingedge of the scraper O to the road-bed is con-l trolled by its rotative movement-that is, ef-

fected by the hand-wheelW-the bolts p, locat- It is obvious that in adjusting the levers G to cut or scrape upon an inclined surface the pivotal and hinged connection ofthe swiveljaw T and bar Pat the forward end of the machine will allow the necessary motions to effect the desired result.

The hinged connection of the scraper O and its supporting-arms J will permit the release of this scraper by a retrograde movement of the grading-machine in case the scraper isinadvertently made to take too deep a cut or comes into contact with a rock or other immovable obstacle, and as the scraper O is hinged at its upper edge to the arms,it can be lfolded with its cutting-edge reversed and above the surface of the ground,and thus permit the transportation of the device from one locality to another without a removal of the scraper from its connections. This latter provision is convenient when removing the machine from work to house it.

Slight changes might be made in the constructive details of this device and the arrangement of some of itsparts modified without j departure from the spirit of my invention. I

` do not,therefore,wish to restrict myself to eX- act forms shown; but, f

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters vl. The combination, with two axles and their wheels, of two longitudinal frame-pieces, a v forwardly-yielding hinged scraper blade, and means of supporting thisscraper-blade to allow it to be vertically and horizontally adj usted, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with two axles, two holsters, and four wheels, of two longitudinal frame-pieces, a forwardly-yielding hinged scraper, and a means of independent adjustment of either end of the scraper, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with a scraper-blade, of the curvedsupporting-arms, to which the scraper-blade is hinged, a circular grooved track-plate, connecting-bolts, and a means of Vmoving the scraper upon the grooved track- IOO wheels, of two frame-pieces that extend from y one aXle to the other, pivoted levers capable of independent vertical adjustment, links, a circular grooved scraper-supporting plate, curved arms, bolts to connect the arms and .grooved plate, and a scraper, substantially as supporting-plate and a shaft'and hand-wheel, of downwardly-projecting arms and a hinged scraper curved in the body and adapted to yield with the retrograde movement of the machine, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination, with two plates, their supporting -bolsters, axles, and wheels, of forked brackets, levers pivoted adj ustably in these brackets, notched upright bracket-posts, and spring-plates secured rigidly on the levers to hold them in the notches of these brackets, substantially as set forth.

8. The comhination,with acircular grooved plate, connecting-bolts, supporting-arms, and a hinged scraper, of a hand-wheel, its upright shaft, and a cross-bar attached to the scrapersupporting arms, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination, with two axles, their wheels and holsters, of a grooved circular supporting-plate, two longitudinal frame-pieces, a cross bar attached to these arched pieces, two attached depending parallel guides, and a horizontal arm adapted to loosely engage the guides, substantially as set forth.

l0. The combination,with the machine running-gear, and the framepieces, the parallel vertical guides depending therefrom, of the conconcentric track-rings connected by a bar and l swivel-joint to the front axle of the runninggear and a bar connecting it in sliding relation with the vertical guides, the links connecting these track-rings with the levers, and the handwheel, for the purpose substantially as set forth.

12. The combination, with the running gear,

frame-plates, the track-rings, and levers for elevating or depressing said rings, of the depending curved arms and the scraper blade hinged thereto, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscrihing witnesses.

f HABLAN G. MOATS. p

Witnesses:

O. E. MoA'rs, GEO. MoAirs. 

